6 WWE Superstars who are allowed to create their own storylines

Creative control in WWE is hard to come by. In the last 7-8 years, there's been a drastic change in the entire creative approach. One of the big criticisms WWE has received in the PG era is the fact that most promos seem overly-scripted and WWE Superstars rarely have full creative control over their characters.

It's well-known that during the days of larger-than-life characters, a lot of it had to do with the fact that WWE gave Superstars control over their characters, and they were allowed to "be themselves", so to speak.

However, modern WWE Superstars don't have that same level of freedom and this has been cited as one of the reasons why WWE hasn't had a megastar since John Cena.

One of the ideas that seem to have changed within WWE is the fact that they don't want any Superstar to be bigger than the company anymore. Ultimately, the idea is for WWE to be the draw and not necessarily a Superstar itself.

Either way, there are a few legends and megastars who still have creative control. Here are five of them:

#6. Triple H - One of WWE's top heads in the office

The Game, The King of Kings, The Cerebral Assassin aka Triple H is one of the greatest Superstars in WWE history. 2020 was the first time in 13 years that Triple H didn't perform at WrestleMania 36 and he stated that he felt no need to.

The last time we saw him in the ring was in 2019, but his most significant match in recent times was his WrestleMania 35 bout against Batista - where he defeated and retired his long-time rival.

He's now one of the main backstage figures in WWE. While he has creative involvement as a whole, it's well-known that he gets to decide who he faces and who he doesn't.

Perhaps that was the reason why he chose to finally give Batista the chance to wrap up his career against him at WrestleMania 35. Triple H faces who Triple H wants to face.

#5. Bray Wyatt - WWE's creative mastermind?

Bray Wyatt is one of the rare "current generation" WWE Superstars who still has a good deal of creative control. Bray Wyatt is considered to be one of the brightest wrestling minds today and unlike many WWE Superstars - his focus is more character-based over his in-ring style.

If you were to look at only his in-ring style, then you probably wouldn't consider him to be the most exciting WWE Superstar. However, his incredible character-work is what makes him stand out and it's clear that he puts in far more effort into his character than most.

Braun Strowman revealed that the entire Firefly Fun House and 'Fiend' character was Bray Wyatt's idea and not WWE's. Almost every aspect of his character-work is decided by him and Vince McMahon seems to trust Bray Wyatt in how he handles his character.

The only exception in such cases is the Goldberg situation, where the WWE legend reportedly used his power to go over 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt - a decision that was unanimously regarded as a terrible one.

#4. Daniel Bryan - a new important creative figure in WWE?

Daniel Bryan's influence backstage in WWE seems to have increased significantly since the last contract he signed with the company. While Daniel Bryan himself was nearly a victim of bad creative decisions in 2013-14 when he was the hottest WWE star on the roster, things seem to have changed quite a bit - particularly his relationship with Vince McMahon.

While Daniel Bryan hasn't been a main event star for the most part in 2020, Wrestlingnews.co reported that Daniel Bryan has significant creative influence - especially for himself. However, he has also reportedly been responsible for a number of creative changes on SmackDown, with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter even backing up these claims:

"Bryan pitches a lot of his own ideas. Sometimes Vince McMahon and Bruce [Prichard] will turn down an idea but a lot of the things he has pitched have been used on TV.”

Drew Gulak's alliance with Daniel Bryan is a result of Bryan's influence backstage. We hope that he continues to be a significant creative figure.

#3. Edge - WWE's Rated-R Superstar

Edge belongs to the old guard. One of the best parts about the old guard is the fact that they have the option to snub creative writers and even higher-ups. If you look at a Superstar like Batista, he's openly stated before how much he despises scripted promos - instead preferring bullet points and then improvising.

This improvisation is what made the old guard so great in promos and Edge revealed on Inside The Ropes that he has been given complete creative control since returning to WWE in 2020:

"We have been left alone. And that's because I've been doing this for 25 years and Randy's been doing this for 20. Nobody's going to write a promo for me. That's all there is to it. I don't work well that way and I think everyone understands that, but it took years and years of proving it."

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter also revealed that Edge has "significant" creative influence. Given that he's one of the most experienced WWE Superstars of the old guard, we don't blame WWE for letting Edge do what he does best without any interference.

#2. John Cena - WWE's last franchise player

John Cena's WWE appearances have significantly reduced over the years. As his Hollywood career picked up, it's been nearly five years now since Cena became a part-timer. He certainly earned the right to his part-time role, especially since he did what no one could before him - carry WWE on his shoulders for a decade.

When you think of the faces of WWE in the modern era, not even Hulk Hogan was able to have the same level of longevity on the top - added to the fact that John Cena did it in a completely different era under completely different circumstances as well.

John Cena has had creative control for a long time now, with his most infamous use of it being the defeat/burial of Nexus at SummerSlam 2010 - something that even he admitted was a bad decision in hindsight.

WrestleVotes reported that John Cena was given full creative control for what he wanted to do in the Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36 as well. This is only one of many instances, but John Cena has earned the right to have the creative control that he's enjoyed for years.

#1. Brock Lesnar - The one who calls the shots

Dave Meltzer once said that in WWE, there are rules that apply to every Superstar, and then there are rules that apply separately to Brock Lesnar. It certainly holds a lot of weight to it when you look at all the things that WWE has let Brock Lesnar get away with over the years.

Discussing Brock Lesnar's creative control on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Brock Lesnar is the one who calls the shots creatively in WWE:

“Whether he’s a babyface or a heel, Brock’s only going so far for the team. Brock’s not gonna like… when it comes to Brock and Vince, people hate this, but when it comes to Brock and Vince — Brock is the one who calls the shots, not Vince and Brock can get away with anything and people hate hearing that."

It's clear that Brock Lesnar arguably holds the most creative control among any Superstar in WWE - even the legends. Given his status and how much he's paid, we're not surprised that he has as much creative control as he does in WWE.